Concetti Chiave
- The English theatre originated from religious events like Christmas and Easter, performed by laypeople in English.
- Early performances, known as "Miracle plays," dramatized Bible stories on movable stage wagons called "pageants."
- Morality plays developed later, featuring characters that personified human virtues and vices, offering psychological interpretations.
- Actors transitioned from amateurs to professional companies, often under the patronage of lords for protection.
- By the end of the 15th century, interludes combined drama and comedy and were performed in the homes of lords by small companies.
How was the English theatre born?
The origins of the theatre are linked to the commemoration of religious events, so of Christmas and Easter. The performances were in English and the characters were lay people. They were not professional actors, they were just members of the trade guilds, so they were all amateur and they were paid for their services. They performed on movable stage wagons called ‘’pageants’’. They used to performed the ‘’Miracle plays’’ that gave a dramatic shape to the Bible.
However, they were stopped by people who wanted to watch an episode, and they usually stopped in squares, in the villages, etc. The next development in dram were “Morality plays” whose characters were not taken from the Bible. They personified human virtues and vices, in fact they represented characters with psychological interpretations. They were collocated in an ancient world into a contemporary environment. The most popular one was ‘’Everyman’’. Another change was that actors were members of professional companies of acting. They were under the patronage of lords to protect themselves. At the end of 15th century, it started to be used the interlude, which is a short play that combine drama and comedy, and they were performed in the lords’ houses by a small company.
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